﻿Hemp﻿Aware﻿Blog﻿

Hemp is one of the most exciting products on the market today. It is one of those magical plants that can be used for so many different things.

In fact, you would be hard-pressed to find any other plant as multi-functional and multi-beneficial as hemp. And I realize you likely already know this, which is why you've been so inspired to work with this plant.

Consider that hemp seed or stock is used in clothing, rope, oil, nutrient supplements, food … not to mention all the medical and textile uses that abound today with industrial hemp!

The most exciting thing about hemp, from a business perspective, is there are so many ways to get involved in its education, manufacture, distribution, production, and/or sale.

The market is open and the opportunities to make a business with hemp are plentiful.So, if you are looking to start a new business, working with hemp is a land of opportunity.

But if you’re reading this, you probably already know how exciting hemp is as a potential business venture – and perhaps you have already begun a business with it.

First I want to affirm that, that’s great ~ and I commend you!

You’re carving a positive path for the future of humanity!We need more people to be aware of this durable wonder-plant because it is invariably essential for our planet, and not to mention crucial for our individual health. ​

Slowly the general population is waking up to the fact that hemp products are some of the best in the world in terms of sustainability, in manufacture, quality of production, and impact on personal health.

So instead of preaching to the choir, let’s take a look at some ways to help your hemp business grow or help you get started with a NEW Hemp Business:

What Is Your Hemp Passion?

Given all the options you could choose with regard to hemp, it can be a little overwhelming on where to begin.But consider the three main parts of the hemp plant that supply the specific hemp industries: fiber, seed and flowers.

Don’t worry so much about market volatility or potential market growth – focus more on what you are passionate about, and form your business around that.

If clothing and textiles is something you have loved for years, then focus on the manufacture and sale of hemp based clothing.

The great thing about hemp is that, from an economics point of view, there is so much demand it’s hard to pick the wrong area of specialization.

Focus On One Product, and Make It Affordable.

No business can succeed if it has multiple competing goals.

If you are involved in the manufacturing of hemp products for sale on the market, you have to decide in the early stages of your business plan what kind of product you want sell. Best advice? Pick one that you are most passionate about, and stick with it.

That’s the advice Shaun Bailey - a hemp expert featured in ‘Growing Hemp for Profit’ - gives to those aspiring for notoriety in the world of hemp.

If you make hemp oil products and seeds, for instance, try cutting down to just hemp oil.

Your passion and knowledge for all things hemp oil will help you develop a brand that really speaks to people – as long as it’s affordable.

Part of the challenge with converting new customers to hemp is how expense it seems to be – so make sure not to price people out of your product just because it’s a ‘speciality’ item.

To new customers, all hemp products are ‘speciality’ items!

Collaborate with an E-Commerce Site or Go Your Own Way.

If your business is in the manufacture and sale of hemp based products, you need to be looking at your digital platforms every day.

Building up your digital presence takes a lot of research and strategic planning, especially if you decide to build up your own e-commerce site.

Social media can go a long way in developing your brand and expanding your reach.

You need to isolate your niche and then work hard to dominate it with a consistent stream of fresh and exciting products and content!

If done correctly, designing and managing your own hemp webstore can be the spark in the engine that drives your business up a notch.

Link Up with Wall Street.

This might not be an option for every small business, but it is a promising sign of things to come.Consider Seed CX, a digital commodity hub that offers hemp farmers a variety of seed types.

Getting involved in the exchange of hemp on the open market is a great way to give your business some exposure and to take part in the general strengthening of the hemp industry.

It’s important to note that Wall Street is also open to manufacturing companies that want to be publicly traded.

While any shift of this nature comes with obvious challenges, a number of companies producing hemp clothing and hemp food items have made the transition and seen positive growth.

It might be the right option for you!

Study What Works and Improve Upon It.

Are you surprised we have not mentioned hard work yet?

We know how much work goes into running a business, but we also know you would not do it if you didn’t love it.

It’s imperative that you analyze the impact of the work you’re doing and see what is most effected.

​Then simply discard what’s not working and focus on refining the things that do.

Dealing with the Stereotypes

Due to hemp’s relationship with medical cannabis, there are some long-time engrained negative stereotypes in humanity's psyche which make many many people still skeptical of this plants overall amazingness and benefit.

This is one of the biggest challenges that hemp entrepreneurs and hemp business owners are dealing with today.

How to Educate the Public and Your Prospects about the Truth.

Will smoking hemp make you high? Of course not.​You know this but so many still don't know.

Does it smell bad? No. In fact it smells very nice.

It should be easy to dispel the rumors, but it’s only been since 2014 that the Federal government even allows the farming of hemp (only in certain forms, and only for research under the auspices of the Industrial Hemp Farm Bill).

The best way to get over negative stereotyping of hemp is through education and successful product design.That’s our job as business people.

It really is simple. Do you know how to take a knife out of a babies hand? You replace it with something else. You give them a toy or food or something like that.

You don't want to try ripping it out of their hand, just as you don't want to try ripping a belief out of someone's mind. It MUST be replaced with a new belief in order to be gotten rid of.

In other words, through the repetition of SHOWING people "what hemp IS," we will soon replace the negative, false belief what it is not.

For instance, people don’t realize hemp is an ancient commodity grown by the Chinese as far back as 2800 BC.

The ancient Chinese knew, and to this day know, how strong hemp fiber is for all types of textile work, including rope-making and other woven applications.

The Ancient Chinese also enjoyed hemp seeds for their nutritious properties: the seeds contain approximately 30 percent oil and contain protein (amino acids), magnesium other minerals, and fibre.

Europeans and Americans are slowly waking up to the realization that hemp has these properties and history, but it’s up to businesses like yours to keep the hemp education.

We are the one's we've been waiting for, and it's people like you, who have a passion and purpose to make a difference on this planet that actually will.

One more Bonus: Story Telling

And one last thing I didn't mention - as a bonus - that I feel is just as essential as the previous 5 ways to grow your hemp business, is knowing how to 'tell your story."

Learn the art of storytelling. The secret to story telling is knowing you audience. Engage them on a deep level right from the start. Be vivid with your words, and get them to FEEL something.

Yes there are different techniques you can learn, which is good. But the main thing is to learn how to tell stories. Also on that point, learn how to tell your story depending on the platform you're on.

You can tell a story in 120 characters on Twitter, or even tell a good story with a simple square image on Instagram.

Conclusion

Hopefully one (or all) of these suggestions can help grow your hemp business.

It’s imperative that smart business decisions are made in the early years of a company to ensure long-term stability. This is especially true with hemp because it’s potential for growth is so huge!

If you require further assistance with your marketing or branding to get your message and products out to the world, we're on a MISSION to help make your vision come to fruition.

My intention for this article is to share with you a foundational blueprint for starting a hemp company or fine-tuning your current hemp company.

Being that I've worked for and started multiple hemp companies, 0ver the last 15 years, I've had a great deal of first-hand experience.

I've had a trumendous opportunity to practice and study every aspect of running a successfful hemp business from the educational side, events, marketing & sales, to product development & beyond.

There are many aspects and systems to running any business, and in this post I will ask you some crucial questions to help you identify what you need to do to be successful with hemp!

So get out a piece of paper (preferably made from hemp ;-), if you are serious about your success, and write down the answers to these questions.

1. WHY?

First and foremost, ask yourself WHY you are doing what you are doing. Write it on a piece of paper & keep that piece of paper with you AT ALL TIMES.

The more clear you can be about WHY you are doing what you are doing - the easier it will be to get through those moments of frustration, challenge and struggle.

​And don't just say "I want to make tons of MONEY." Of course making money is essential to ANY successful business. But that is NOT what this is about.

Money is simply the by-product of offering great value to your customers and delivering (or over-delivering) on your promises.

Knowing your WHY is getting deeply in touch with the FEELING that you want to FEEL on a daily basis. It's the altruistic, lofty, aspirational legacy that you want to leave behind. It's what you want people to remember you for.

​When it comes to your WHY, this has more to do with what you believe in. Knowing your WHY will tie into every other aspect of your business so this is essetnial to identify.

2. WHAT?

WHAT category of hemp is MOST exciting to you?

WHAT are you good at?

WHAT excites you the MOST about working with hemp?

WHAT products do you know the most about currently?

WHAT problem or problems can you find that you can solve with hemp? A great way to find out what your audience needs are, is to visit facebook groups, forums and reading comments on hemp websites. You can also set up a free survey with SurveyMonkey or use Google's FREE Survey forms.

3. WHO?

Once you know WHY you are doing what you are doing and WHAT solutions you can offer to your customers - then focus in on WHO your Market is and what their personal problems are.

This will really allow you to develop your marketing message and speak to your audience in a way that feels right for them.

​There are a few great tools you can use to build "Personas," for your company. These are made up characters that most represent the people you will be serving.

I believe in social media marketing and we've acutally developed a platform for you to stay organized and get results with Social Media.

A lot of our success with that brand as well as the HempAware brand have come from WORD-OF-MOUTH marketing. This form of marketing is personally my favorite.

When you get your customers to share with others how much they love and appreciate your brand and products it's so much more powerful than you saying it about yourself!

​HOW also deals with a logistical timeline, setting goals and working backwards from specific achievments you want to fulfill.

Here's a great video on The Peg Method by Anik Singal. This is a method to create an easier way of creating your goals using micro goals and attaching your problems to your assets. It's an awesome way to accelerate your success!

5. WHEN?

This is probably a pretty obvious topic and ties in with what I just shared with you on setting goals and timelines.

First, recognize that THE TIME IS NOW!

Although, I've been working with hemp for over 15 years, now is a phenomenal time to start a hemp company.

There is so much opportunity to invent, develop, or even support existing hemp companies to get their products onto the market and out to the people.

Final Thoughts

As you can imagine, there is an infinite amount of possibility for you in the hemp industry. The MOST IMPORTANT piece to the puzzle is to identify WHY you want to do this.

There WILL be challenges, as in any entrepreneurial endeavor. You have EX.T.R.A. (Expertise, Talents, Resources & Abilities).

Write down the answers to the questions in this post and get VERY CLEAR about your mission and plan. Connect with like minded hempsters in the industry. Interview them and ask tons of questions.

Always be learning!

Once you have a plan, and have identified a MAJOR PROBLEM that Hemp can solve - you are off to a great start!

Never give up - and keep refering back to your WHY if you ever get stuck...lastly I want to give you a FREE COPY of my BOOK, "Do One Thing HEMP.

It's a brief little Hemptrepreneurial Handbook that may give you a few more insights to the hemp industry and how to SUCCEED with hemp!